On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, dieticians everywhere are celebrated for their often anonymous work done behind the scenes. In VANTAGE Aging’s Meals on Wheels of Northeast Ohio kitchen, certified nutritionist Nora Logsdon is who our clients can count on to ensure that their meals are healthy and prepared with the utmost attention to detail. From ensuring each client’s portions fit with recommended guidelines for nutrition to creating menus that play on variety with loads of different options, Nora plays an integral role into MOWNEO daily operations.
Nora got her start in the food service arena at age 10, where could be seen pouring punch at weddings her grandmother used to cater. Starting off that early into the industry that has become her life’s work, she knew food service was what she wanted to do. By age 16, Nora was working in nutrition services at Barberton Hospital. She says, “The hands-on experience I had there had such an impact on my life,” and it was in the kitchen of the hospital that she decided to pursuit a career as a dietician.
Working at Barberton Hospital through college gave her an experience worth as much, if not more than, any internship could have provided at the time. Learning the ins and outs of what dietary needs certain patients had, knowing how food helps fuel the body during both recovery and aging, and understanding how each piece of the wellness puzzle has to fit together for holistic health gave Nora an edge when it came to knowing what MOWNEO clients would need to age in place, safely at home. And, Meals on Wheels of Northeast Ohio has been home to Nora’s talents, knowledge, and skillset for the last 37 years. “After college, I sent my resume out to anyone who wanted to hire me. Luckily, I was referred to this job by a college professor,” she laughs. “I told them to send my resume to anyone who will hire me, and they did!”
At the time, Meals on Wheels of Northeast Ohio was a part of the United Way that provided meals through a catering service, so Nora was strictly the dietician, working with the caterer to write menus and work side by side with them. Once the MOWNEO program started to grow, they had to make a determination as to what their future would look like. Caterers weren’t bidding on their program, and they feared that a competitor would come in and ask them for more money. However, Nora and the team at the time talked to their board about building their own kitchen. Her first comment to them was, “I don’t want to build a kitchen. I don’t want to run a kitchen. I do not want any part in that. But, it is what we have to do if we want to grow.”
Knowing exactly what the program needs has been the fuel in Nora’s fire for almost four decades, and it was her cool head an intrepid outlook on the future of MOWNEO that led her to travel the country to look for similar programs. She and her team were tasked with finding out what other Meals on Wheels programs did who ran their own kitchens. Gathering ideas to being back with them to Ohio, Nora says, “We didn’t know what we wanted, but we learned quickly what we did not want.” Despite her initial hesitation, Nora was part of building the facility that stands now on Nave Avenue in Massillon. Working with architects, equipment vendors, and builders, Nora was able to have an impact in bringing the vision to life. Being able to know what the clients would need and how to prepare meals to meet their needs in an efficient way while not cutting corners on production, Nora was able to use her dietician skills in new and exciting ways. “It was such a huge undertaking, and there are always new and improved ways to update the kitchen, and we have,” she says. “But, it meets our needs now.”
When it comes to her daily role as nutritionist, Nora is constantly thinking ahead to meet the community’s needs. She creates menus on a quarterly basis, and each month the menu gets updated to give variety to the clients served. “What are the items we can serve to them that they can’t make themselves? Most of the time, the things clients like to eat require cooking for a long time and for a lot of people at once. But, they don’t always have multiple people to feed. So, I look for things that our clients may not attempt to make on their own because they see it as too much, and then we make it for them.” Nora seeks variety in the menus she makes, keeping all aspects of the aging process in mind when creating the meal plan. She understands that, as we age, we tend to lose interest in eating, losing our appetites and ability to want to eat. This can lead to decision fatigue, and this may lead to clients not eating at all – an option that they cannot afford. A pre-chosen menu oftentimes makes it easier for seniors to eat, as it helps eliminate any potential for decision fatigue, and Nora knows the importance of keeping that menu appealing for clients, saying, “If you don’t make it interesting, and this goes for everyone, but if you don’t make it interesting, they are not going to want it eat it.” Acknowledging that not everyone is going to like the same thing, it is this awareness that also leads Nora to build in options to every day’s plans. If the client does not like what is being served, they can call in for a sack lunch instead, keeping them fed while honoring their ability to choose.
Also unique to Meals on Wheels of Northeast Ohio is that the meals Nora chooses are made from scratch, by hand. “Soups, casseroles, all of that – none of them come from a can. Making them from scratch means we can ensure freshness and quality of each piece of every meal,” Nora remarks. “At the end of the day, it’s about doing what is best for each client and their health. If they aren’t eating the meals, they aren’t getting what they need. So, we make it interesting, a little fun, and always fresh so that they enjoy eating. That’s the mission.”
When looking back at her career, Nora is satisfied and says she wouldn’t change a thing. “Going home at the end of every day, knowing I played a part in ensuring 1200 people got fed that day – not many people can say that. And, not many people can say that they’ve watched a program grow as much as we have, from serving less than 200 people to 1200 per day.” That growth, and being a part of it, came because Nora was willing to grow with the program, willing to make changes and take on a variety of roles, and didn’t pigeonhole herself into only one part of the organization’s mission. “I have done every job in this building,” she says. “I have watched talent come in and leave because they weren’t willing to take on other tasks and be open to that growth. You have to be adaptable. No two days are ever the same, and if you can’t pivot and move where you need to, you’re going to get stuck and then leave.” Nora loves that she can be creative and do fun things with her job while still ensuring that all of the nutritional needs of others are being met. “You don’t get to feel stuck when you do this work.”
She says that she chose this line of work, and recommends others consider the same, for many reasons. “Everybody eats. This day and age, with changes in diet and health, you evolve. It’s a field that isn’t going away, it will be in demand.” Nora admits with a smile that this is, indeed, her life’s work because she was able to have endless opportunities to grow, learn, and thrive, and she says others in this field have the opportunity to do the same. “You can chart your own course, no matter where you work, the need for healthy eating and taking care of ourselves with what we eat won’t go away.” When it comes to her work, she says she wouldn’t change a thing.
In her role, Nora gets to talk to clients and make sure they’re satisfied with their meals and their service. While a story about almost quitting due to repeated reports of hard carrots and black potatoes back in the “old days” of the program provides a humorous moment, it also reminds Nora of what fuels her. “I find that when a client calls to complain, there is more behind it. Medication changes, treatments, changing of abilities … all of those affect the way things taste or are perceived. The complaint is rarely about the meals themselves. Once I learned that I wouldn’t be able to please every person every single day, I was able to deepen my relationships with our clients and my understanding to really get to know them and their needs.” And it is being able to talk to the clients and get to know them that makes her incredibly happy as a dietician, as it helps more than just the client. Providing complete nutrition education for both the client and their families to help them understand their bodies and food intake and how food plays an important role in aging well, helping them deal with chronic illnesses or other age-related ailments that may occur makes her job unlike many other dieticians’ jobs. They simply may not have the volume or capacity she does to build and foster those key relationships that can span many years, helping them age in place, staying healthy and safe, one meal at a time.